Preassembled door casing



June 28, 1955,

Filed May 2l, 1954 E. T. JACKSON PREASSEMBLED DOOR CASING mmum 2 Sheets-Sheet l is florly g.

' Filed May 21, 1954 June 28, 1955 E. T. JACKSON 2,711,564

PREASSEMBLED DOOR CASING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 is Var/7551f E q T Jam 50,

Fatenteti done 28, 1$55 PREASSEMBLED DGQR CASING Edwin T. Jackson, Tallahassee, Fla.

Appiication May 21, 1954, Serial No. 431,445

Claims. (Cl. -11) My invention relates to preassembled or prefabricated door casings, and more particularly to improvements in means for afiixing preassembled door casing units in a rough door opening.

An object of my invention is to provide simple and effective means for retaining a preassembled door casing in predetermined desired position in a rough door opening.

A further object of my invention is to provide a split jamb door casing assembly comprising means accurately to position the casing in a rough door opening, which i.

means permit highly accurate positioning and rigid and easy attachment of the casing in the predetermined desired position.

Many attempts have been made heretofore to provide preassembled door casings and attachment means for such casings, whereby a complete door and casing assembly may be shipped to the building site for installation in rough door openings. Assemblies heretofore proposed, generally, have suffered from complexity and an overabundance of parts, high cost, unacceptable appearance or .difiicult installation procedures which could not be readily understood by carpenters experienced only in conventional door casing constructions. In certain prior art constructions it has not been possible to adjust the alignment or to plumb the casing upon installation, while in others the sole support for the casing has been through trim strips attached to the walls bounding the rough door opening. The support of jamb members by trim strips has not been found satisfactory in that the jamb may shift from the weight of the suspended door or from warping of the jamb or trim strips, or from other causes. It is important, therefore, rigidly to affix the jamb of the door casing to the rough buck of the rough door opening.

It is a specific object of this invention, accordingly, to

provide, in a preassembled door casing assembly, 'bracing means for rigidly afiixing the finish jamb member to which the door is hung to the rough buck, the bracing means being adapted and arranged to permit accurate plumb alignment of the casing during installation. The casing assembly of this invention may be installed by a single carpenter possessing no special skills and without the use of special tools but requiring only a hammer, or screwdriver, a saw and a carpenters level. During installation, furthermore, no interfitting or adjustment of members hidden from view is required, but all parts are clearly visible until installation steps having to do with such parts are completed.

It is a further advantage of this invention that all parts may be of Wood of common shapes and sizes, the only non-wooden parts being commonly available nails or screws. It will become apparent hereinafter that the door opening in which the casing herein described is installed, will have substantially the appearance of finished conventional doorways, and that the parts which permit the easing hereof to be applied to rough openings of imperfect alignment and varying dimensions through walls within a relatively wide range of thicknesses, and which permit the ready plumbing and rigid attachment of the jamb to the rough buck, will all be hidden from view, principally by the door stop.

Each of the above advantages may be considered a specific object of my invention, and a related general object is to combine all of these advantages in a simple and inexpensive preassembled door casing.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a preassembled door casing, partially cut away, in accord with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a section of the door casing of Fig. 1 demonstrating details of the construction and the method of attachment of the casing to the rough buck of a rough door opening; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the section of the door casing of Fig. 2 following installation in the rough door opening.

Referring to Fig. l, a casing assembly in accord with my invention is shown comprising a flush door I hung by suitable hinges, not shown, to a jamb member 2. J amb member 2, together with jamb member 3 and head member i, comprises one of the portions of a complete split jamb, and jamb members 5 and 6, and head member 7, comprise the other half of the complete split jamb. Suitable trim strips 8 are affixed to an outer edge of jamb members 2 and 3 and head member 4, while similar trim strips 9 are similarly preaffixed to the outer edges of jarnb members 5 and 6 and head member 7. These outer edges, such as outer edge 10 of jamb member 6, face the rooms on opposite sides of the door opening, whereas the edges of the jamb and head members which face each other within the door opening are designated herein as inner edges.

The door unit or casing assembly is arranged for connection to the rough buck of the door opening by means of braces or blocks 11, 12, 13 and 14, a total of six such blocks being suggested by the construction shown, three for each of jamb members 2 and 3, it being understood, however, that a more or less number of such blocks may be provided in accord with the rigidity required and with the weight of the door 1. The blocks preferably are of solid rectangular shape, as demonstrated by the drawing of block 12, and each block fits within a conforming aperture in the respective jamb member, such as aperture 15 which receives block 12. It is important that the blocks 12 not turn within the apertures 15, and the transverse configuration of the blocks and apertures should, therefore, be non-circular. Square or oval blocks 12 will be found satisfactory if the apertures 15 are formed to fit the particular shape selected. The rectangular shape shown has certain advantages, however, over shapes of less transverse height or greater transverse width. The fit of each block within its aperture should not beso tight as to require more than light hammer blows to move the block in its aperture and is preferably only hand tight. The fit, at the other extreme, should not be so loose as to permit appreciable turning of the block about its longitudinal axis or motion up and down or back and forth about a horizontal or vertical transverse axis.

The end 16 of block 12 is perpendicular to the length of the block, and the block 12 should extend perpendicularly with respect to the back face 17 of jamb member 3 when positioned in aperture 15. When so positioned, accordingly, end 16 will lie parallel to the hidden face 17 of the jamb member, it being understood that this face 17, upon installation, will confront the rough door buck and will be, accordingly, hidden from view, while block end 16 will engage the surface of the buck. A guide opening 18 is drilled longitudinally through block 12 to permit a nail or screw, or other similar fastening means, to pass through the block, and such nail or screw, or the like, is used to afiix the block to the rough buck of the door opening holding the end 16 firmly against the buck surface.

The construction of each of the other blocks of the door assembly is similar to that described for block 12, and, since the longitudinal guide opening of each block extends completely therethrough, the guide opening 19 of block 14 is seen as opening through the end 20 shown in this view.

The members which go to make up the split jamb are held together in alignment by a plurality of mortise and tenon joining arrangements, and tenons 21, 22 and 23 are provided to locate jamb members 3 and 6 with re spect to each other. The specific arrangement and operation of these dowels or tenons, and the positioning and functioning of the door stop 24 will be best understood by considering Figs. 2 and 3.

In preparing the preassembled casing for installation, it is first necessary to draw nails 24' which, during shipment of the casing assembly, have held the separate jamb members, such as members 2 and 5, together and the door stop 24 in place. These nails will have been only partially set into the jamb members, and slight withdrawal of each will permit the door stop to be removed. The jamb members may now be separated, sliding tenons 21, 22, 23 from the mortise openings of jamb member 3, and sliding the similar tenons of jamb member from the mortises of jamb member 2. With the door stop removed and the members of the split jamb separated as seen in Fig. 2, the first installation step is performed by afiixing jamb member 2 to rough buck 25 of the rough door opening. The jamb member to which the door is hung, in accord with this embodiment of my invention, is affixed to the door buck, whereas the jamb member which does not support the door is not affixed directly to the buck but is held in position only by trim strip attachment to the wall and tenon attachment to the aforesaid jamb member. It Will be understood, accordingly, that jamb member 2 of Fig. 2, rather than jamb member 5, is the one to which the door is hung.

To accomplish the attachment of jamb member 2 to the rough buck 25, jamb member 2 is manually placed in its desired vertical or plumb position within the door opening, with trim strip 8 partially overlying the wall surface 26, and block 14 is then inserted through its fitting aperture in the jamb member. If desired, trim strip 8 may be nailed to the wall surface 26 prior to insertion of the block, or the block may first be fixed in position in the jamb member by means of a nail 27 driven into a pre-drilled guide opening piercing the inner edge 28 of the jamb member 2 and extending into communication with the block aperture now filled with block 14. After several of the blocks have been set by means of nails 27, the half of the casing to which the door is mounted will be held by the blocks which bear against the rough buck. In order that slight adjustments to the plumb position of the jamb 2 may be accomplished, it is suggested that the nails 27 be set only slightly into the blocks, whereby one or more nails 27 may be withdrawn by the claws of a hammer, the jamb member may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly on the block 14, and the nails 27 hammered again into the block. When the desired adjustment of the jamb member with respect to the block 14 and the other blocks has been completed, some of the block 14 and of each of the others will protrude from the corresponding exposed face, such as face 29, of the jamb members, and this protruding portion is now cut off by means of a saw to provide a face or end 20 of block 14 which is flush with exposed face 29 of the jamb member,

and each other block is similarly sawed off. A nail 30 is now driven through the longitudinal guide opening of block 14 into rough buck 25, thereby rigidly to affix block 14 to the rough buck with the end of block 14 opposite to end 2t} firmly abutting and held to the surface of the buck. The pre-drilled guide opening into which nail 27 is hammered, in the construction shown, is located to intersect or meet the block aperture above the center of the aperture, whereas the longitudinal guide opening in block 14 which passes nail 30 is provided below the center of the block. This arrangement prevents the intersection of nails 27 and 30 within block 14. As heretofore mentioned, nails 27 and 30 may be common nails, or they may be other fastening means such as finishing nails or screws, or the like.

Tenon 31 is firmly afiixed to, and extends from the inner edge 32 of jamb member 5, and the tenon is arranged to engage in a mortise opening 33 provided through the inner edge 28 into jamb member 2. After jamb member 2 has been aflixed in position to the buck 2S jamb member 5, with its affixed trim 9 is brought into position to insert tenon 31 into mortise 33. T enon 31 is slipped or pressed into mortise 33 to a depth sutlieient to cause engagement of trim strip 9 with wall surface 34, and the tenon aligns jamb member 5 with jamb member 2. When jamb member 5 has reached its desired position, a set nail is driven through pre-drilled guide opening 35 extending through the exposed face 29 of jamb member 2 into communication with the approximate center of mortise 33. The set nail so driven will pierce tenon 31 and lock the jamb members to one another.

While the tenons 31, 21, 22 and 23 and mortises, such as mortise 33, are shown as cylindrical, other shapes will, of course, be found satisfactory.

The final step in the installation, after jamb members 2 and 5 and the other jamb and head members seen in Fig. l are all affixed in position, is accomplished by placing door stop 24 at its correct location, as determined by the closed pre-hung door, and driving nails 24' into the respective jamb and head members. When so applied, the door stop will hide the end of block 14, the head of the set nail in opening 35 and the gap between inner edges 28 and 32 of the jamb members 2 and 5.

Fig. 3 discloses a section of the door casing in its final position mounted to buck by means of block 14 pierced by nail and rigidly affixed to jamb member 2 by means of nail 27. lamb member 5 has been introduced into the rough opening sufficiently to bring trim strip 9 into engagement with wall surface 34, and tenon 31, bridging the gap between the inner edges of jamb members 2 and 5, has been inserted into mortise 33 and locked in position by a set nail 36. Door stop 24 is nailed by nails 24 to jamb members 2 and 5, respectively, and is positioned to cover the head of set nail 36, the end 20 of block 14, including the head of nail 30, and to bridge the gap between the inner edges of the jamb members.

Trim strips 8 and 9 may be nailed to the respective wall surface, such as by nails 37.

While I have shown and described only certain preferred embodiments of my invention by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and I therefore wish to have it understood that I intend, in the appended claims, to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A prefabricated adjustable door casing comprising a split jamb including two jamb members having respective inner edges for adjacent facing disposition and respective exposed faces and respective faces hidden upon installation, one of said jamb members having an aperture extending therethrough from its said exposed face to its said hidden face in a direction substantially perpendicular to said faces and having a fastening-device-guide opening extending from its said inner edge into communication with said aperture, and an elongated block of transverse configuration and size conformingly to fit in said aperture, said block having a flat end to abut against the surface of the rough buck upon installation of said casing and being longitudinally through-bored to receive an elongated fastening device for fastening said block to said rough buck.

2. A prefabricated adjustable door casing comprising a split jamb including two jamb members having respective inner edges for adjacent facing disposition and re spective exposed faces and respective faces hidden upon installation, one of said jamb members having a non-circular aperture extending therethrough from its said exposed face to its said hidden face in a direction substantially perpendicular to said faces and having a fasteningdevice-guide opening extending from its said inner edge into communication with said aperture, and an elongated block of transverse configuration and size conformingly to fit in said aperture, said block having a flat end to abut against the surface of the rough buck upon installation of said casing and being longitudinally throughbored to receive an elongated fastening device for fastening said block to said rough buck.

3. A preassembled door casing comprising a first jamb member having a pre-affixed trim strip along an outer edge, a mortised inner edge, a normally exposed face, and a normally hidden face for facing a rough buck of the door opening to be cased, a solid elongated rectangular block having a longitudinal fastening device guiding aperture extending from one to the other end of said block, said jamb member being apertured fittingly to receive said block therethrough, said last aperture being oriented to permit said block longitudinally to extend to said buck in a direction perpendicular to said normally hidden face, said jamb member having a fastening device guiding opening in said inner edge extending into communication with said block-receiving aperture, a second jamb member having an inner edge for disposition confronting said first inner edge, tenon means protruding from said inner edge of said second jamb member engageable in said mortises to couple said jamb members, a door stop member aflixable to said jamb members in position to cover said block and inner edges, and a door hingedly mounted on said first jamb member.

4. In combination, in a preassembled door casing of the class having a split jamb comprising two jamb members for side-by-side disposition adjacent the rough buck of a rough door opening, an elongated brace member having a non-circular transverse configuration and respectively parallel end surfaces and having an aperture extending longitudinally through said brace member and opening through said respective end surfaces, one said jamb member having an aperture therethrough conforming to said configuration and adapted and aligned fittingly to receive said brace member and to dispose said brace member toward said buck when said one jamb member is in position in said rough opening, said brace member being proportioned and arranged to dispose one said end surface in abutment with the surface of said rough buck and to bridge the space between said buck surface and said one jamb member and further to extend through at least a major portion of said conforming aperture, the inner edge of said one jamb member having an aperture extending into said one jamb member and communicating with said conforming aperture and being adapted and arranged to direct a piercing fastener element from said edge into the portion of said brace element disposed Within said conforming aperture.

5. In a door casing assembly for finishing a rough door opening, a door-carrying jamb member having a rectangular aperture extending therethrough in a direction perpendicular to the normally exposed face of said member, a bracing block extending longitudinally and fittingly through said aperture and protruding from each opposite face of said jamb member, the portion of said block protruding from the normally hidden face of said jamb member terminating in an end to abut the surface of the rough buck of said door opening, means to lock said block in selected position in said aperture to space said jamb member from said buck surface, said block being adapted to be cut off flush with said exposed face, said block being longitudinally apertured to receive a nail therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,651,814 Lester Sept. 15, 1953 

